Sending text to another application - excel

I am looking to send some text fields from Excel to another application using the SendMessage method. Here is my code below:
Public Declare PtrSafe Function SendMessage Lib "user32.dll" Alias "SendMessageA" ( _
ByVal hwnd As Long, _
ByVal wMsg As Long, _
ByVal wParam As Long, _
ByRef lParam As Any) As Long
Public Declare PtrSafe Function SendMessageByString Lib "user32.dll" Alias "SendMessageA" ( _
ByVal hwnd As Long, _
ByVal wMsg As Long, _
ByVal wParam As Long, _
ByRef lParam As String) As Long
Public Declare PtrSafe Function FindWindow Lib "user32.dll" Alias "FindWindowA" ( _
ByVal lpClassName As String, _
ByVal lpWindowName As String) As Long
Public Declare PtrSafe Function FindWindowEx Lib "user32.dll" Alias "FindWindowExA" ( _
ByVal hWnd1 As Long, _
ByVal hWnd2 As Long, _
ByVal lpsz1 As String, _
ByVal lpsz2 As String) As Long
Public Const WM_SETTEXT As Long = &HC
Public Const BM_CLICK As Long = &HF5&
Sub RunApplication()
Dim Vendor As String
Dim qty As String
Dim PartId As String
hwnd = FindWindow(vbNullString, "Purchase Order Entry - Infor ERP VISUAL Enterprise - LIVE")
gupta_form = FindWindowEx(hwnd, 0, "Gupta:Form", vbNullString)
Order_Date = FindWindowEx(gupta_form, 0, "Edit", vbNullString)
Our_OrderID = FindWindowEx(gupta_form, Order_Date, "Edit", vbNullString)
VendorID = FindWindowEx(gupta_form, Our_OrderID, "Edit", vbNullString)
gupta_dialog = FindWindowEx(hwnd, 0, "Gupta:Dialog", "Table Toolbar")
gupta_child_table = FindWindowEx(gupta_form, 0, "Gupta:ChildTable", vbNullString)
list_clip = FindWindowEx(gupta_child_table, 0, "Gupta:ChildTable:ListClip", vbNullString)
Open_line = FindWindowEx(gupta_dialog, 0, "Button", vbNullString)
qty_edit = FindWindowEx(list_clip, 0, "Edit", vbNullString)
Vendor = Sheets("Daily Stock").Range("H16")
qty = Sheets("Daily Stock").Range("I16")
PartId = Sheets("Daily Stock").Range("A16")
Call SendMessageByString(VendorID, WM_SETTEXT, ByVal CLng(0), ByVal Vendor) 'Enter Vendor ID into Field
Call SendMessageByString(Open_line, BM_CLICK, 0, ByVal 0&) 'Click Button to open Quantity field
Timeout (2) 'Wait until Quantity field is open
Call SendMessageByString(qty_edit, WM_SETTEXT, ByVal CLng(0), ByVal qty) 'Enter Quantity from Daily Stock sheet
End Sub
I am having 2 problems. For some reason the "Vendor" string is being correctly sent to the external application however the "qty_edit" window is not receiving the data. When running this program I can see that the cursor has moved to the correct window but no data was sent. The only difference between these 2 fields in the application is that the "VendorID" window is expecting text but the "qty_edit" window is expecting a number. Is this the reason why the number is not being received?
My second problem relates to the next window that I am trying to write to. In order to enter text into the next window "PartID" I need to send a Tab keystroke to move across from the "qty_edit" window to the "PartID" window. What is the best way for me to move across to this window? I cannot see the location of this window in Spy++. It needs to be activated by a Tab keystroke.

I think you've made it a lot more complicated than necessary.
This should work (or something similar)
AppActivate ("Purchase Order Entry - Infor ERP VISUAL Enterprise - LIVE")
SendKeys Vendor & "{TAB}" & qty
AppActivate (Application.Caption)

Related

Downloading PDF document in Chrome using VBA Selenium

I currently need to download multiple PDF files from a specific website.
Once I reach to this point the usual action is to click on the save button or to type "CTRL + S"
Click on Save button
I retrieved this on this post of IE Automation
But I'm trying to excecute the download action with the following code:
bot.SendKeys Keys.Control, "s"
And is not working.
How can I make this work on Chrome?
Thanks,
You could use this to download the pdfs.
Dim PDF_URL as string
#If VBA7 Then
Private Declare PtrSafe Function URLDownloadToFile Lib "urlmon" Alias "URLDownloadToFileA" ( _
ByVal pCaller As LongPtr, _
ByVal szURL As String, _
ByVal szFileName As String, _
ByVal dwReserved As LongPtr, _
ByVal lpfnCB As LongPtr) As LongPtr
#Else
Private Declare Function URLDownloadToFile Lib "urlmon" Alias "URLDownloadToFileA" ( _
ByVal pCaller As Long, _
ByVal szURL As String, _
ByVal szFileName As String, _
ByVal dwReserved As Long, _
ByVal lpfnCB As Long) As Long
#End If
Private Sub File_Download()
Dim FileURL As String
Dim DestinationFile As String
FileURL = PDF_URL
DestinationFile = "C:\PDFs\PDFName.pdf"
If URLDownloadToFile(0, FileURL, DestinationFile, 0, 0) = 0 Then
Debug.Print "File downloaded started"
Else
Debug.Print "File downloaded not started"
End If
End Sub
Private Sub GetURL
PDF_URL = Chrome_Driver.FindElementById("EleID").Attribute("src")
File_Download
end sub
There are a ton of websites that may not allow bots. You should go to the website's /robots.txt to see if there are any restrictions on bots pulling the content you are trying to grab. These sections will show "disallow" anything bots are forbidden to access.
example: google/robots.txt
Yes, websites can even tell if you are using Selenium.

Send Return Key To Excel Formula Bar Using WinAPI

What I'm trying to do:
I'm trying to copy text to the clipboard then paste into excel while keeping all the formatting.
The only way I have found to stop excel from spreading the text across many cells and keep formatting like bullet points etc is after copying to the clipboard, to paste it directly into the formula bar.
How I'm attempting it:
I'm using Win API to get the handle of the formula bar.
Then sending a WM_PASTE message to the window to paste what's on the clipboard.
Then sending a WM_SETFOCUS message to the window ready to receive the return key.
Then sending a WM_KEYDOWN message for the return key.
Private Declare Function FindWindow _
Lib "user32" _
Alias "FindWindowA" _
(ByVal lpClassName As String, _
ByVal lpWindowName As String) As Long
Private Declare Function FindWindowEx _
Lib "user32" _
Alias "FindWindowExA" _
(ByVal hwndParent As Long, _
ByVal hwndChildAfter As Long, _
ByVal lpszClass As String, _
ByVal lpszWindow As String) As Long
Private Declare Function SendMessage _
Lib "user32.dll" _
Alias "SendMessageA" _
(ByVal hWnd As Long, _
ByVal Msg As Long, _
ByVal wParam As Long, _
ByRef lParam As Any) _
As Long
Declare Function PostMessage _
Lib "user32" _
Alias "PostMessageA" ( _
ByVal hWnd As Long, _
ByVal wMsg As Long, _
ByVal wParam As Long, _
lParam As Any) As Long
Declare Function SetForegroundWindow _
Lib "user32" _
(ByVal hWnd As Long) As Long
Private Const WM_CUT As Long = &H300
Private Const WM_COPY As Long = &H301
Private Const WM_PASTE As Long = &H302
Private Const WM_CLEAR As Long = &H303
Private Const WM_UNDO As Long = &H304
Private Const WM_KEYDOWN As Long = &H100
Private Const WM_KEYUP As Long = &H101
Private Const VK_F5 As Long = &H74
Private Const VK_RETURN As Long = &HD
Private Const WM_CHAR As Long = &H102
Private Const WM_SETFOCUS As Long = &H7
Private Const WM_KILLFOCUS As Long = &H8
Private Const WM_IME_SETCONTEXT As Long = &H281
Public Sub pasteClipboard()
hwndMain = Application.hWnd: Debug.Print hwndMain
hwndFormulaBar = FindWindowEx(Application.hWnd, ByVal 0&, "EXCEL<", vbNullString): Debug.Print hwndFormulaBar
hwndDesk = FindWindowEx(Application.hWnd, ByVal 0&, "XLDESK", vbNullString): Debug.Print hwndDesk
hwndSheet = FindWindowEx(hwndDesk, ByVal 0&, "EXCEL7", vbNullString): Debug.Print hwndSheet
RetVal = SendMessage(hwndFormulaBar, WM_PASTE, 0, ByVal 0)
Debug.Print SendMessage(hwndFormulaBar, WM_SETFOCUS, 0, 0)
Debug.Print SendMessage(hwndFormulaBar, WM_IME_SETCONTEXT, &H0, &H0)
Debug.Print SendMessage(hwndFormulaBar, WM_KEYDOWN, VK_RETURN, &H0)
End Sub
The Problem:
This all works up until when I send the return key to finish editing the cell which is what I'd like to happen. Instead it puts a carriage return in the text box which makes a lot of sense but not the result I wanted.
I've looked at the formula window with Spy++ and watched what happens when I type something in the window and hit return - when the return key is hit it finishes editing the cell.
The only two commands I'm not using that show up in Spy++ are WM_IME_SETCONTEXT and WM_IME_NOTIFY but in all honesty I'm not sure what these two commands do.
I tried using the WM_IME_SETCONTEXT above thinking I may have to change it before sending the return key but the results didn't change.
Any solutions?
If anyone can point me in the right direction of how to send a message that will finish editing the cell (doesn't have to be the return key, that was just my first thought) that would be great.
Many Thanks
Thank you for all the comments.
#Rita Han - MSFT The application.SendKeys worked as long as the focus was not the VBE window which is great!

minimize window driver selenium excel vba

I have searched a lot for a way to minimize the window of the driver in selenium for excel vba. I have found ways for Java and python and tried to adopt them but all my tries failed
I just found a way to maximize the window using
bot.Window.Maximize
But when trying to use Minimize I got an error
Again I am searching for excel vba as for selenium ...
Thanks advanced for help
AFAIK there is no method for this in VBA implementation (there is in Python for example). There are a number of ways to manipulate size and position e.g.
bot.Window.SetSize 0, 0
Or you can run headless
bot.AddArgument "--headless"
You might also try to:
1) Emulate Windows Key + Down
2) Write a javscript function that performs window.minimize() and async execute off the parent window
3) Capture your target co-ordinates by generating a GetWindowPlacement call along with implementing your own WINDOWPLACEMENT struct. Looks like gets ugly fast.
See also:
Getting the size of a minimized window
Driver.Window.SetSize 0, 0
just made the window smaller, without minimizing the browser to the taskbar.
How to use GetWindowPlacement in selenium vba?
'for vb6
Private Type POINTAPI
x As Long
y As Long
End Type
Private Type RECT
Left As Long
Top As Long
Right As Long
Bottom As Long
End Type
Private Type WINDOWPLACEMENT
Length As Long
flags As Long
showCmd As Long
ptMinPosition As POINTAPI
ptMaxPosition As POINTAPI
rcNormalPosition As RECT
End Type
Private Declare Function GetWindowPlacement Lib "user32" (ByVal hwnd As Long, lpwndpl As WINDOWPLACEMENT) As Long
Private Sub Command1_Click()
Dim wp As WINDOWPLACEMENT
wp.Length = Len(wp)
GetWindowPlacement targetHandle, wp
End Sub
Minimize window by windows API
This is a workaround for Selenium VBA not having a working minimize window option.
''compiler constants
#If VBA7 Then
Public Declare PtrSafe Function ShowWindow Lib "user32" (ByVal hwnd As LongPtr, ByVal nCmdShow As Long) As Boolean
Public Declare PtrSafe Function GetWindowText Lib "user32" Alias "GetWindowTextA" (ByVal hwnd As LongPtr, ByVal lpString As String, ByVal cch As Long) As Long
Public Declare PtrSafe Function FindWindowEx Lib "user32" Alias "FindWindowExA" (ByVal hWnd1 As LongPtr, ByVal hWnd2 As LongPtr, ByVal lpsz1 As String, ByVal lpsz2 As String) As Long
#Else
Public Declare Function ShowWindow Lib "USER32" (ByVal hwnd As Long, ByVal nCmdShow As Long) As Boolean
Public Declare Function GetWindowText Lib "user32" Alias "GetWindowTextA" (ByVal hwnd As Long, ByVal lpString As String, ByVal cch As Long) As Long
Public Declare Function FindWindowEx Lib "user32" Alias "FindWindowExA" (ByVal hWnd1 As Long, ByVal hWnd2 As Long, ByVal lpsz1 As String, ByVal lpsz2 As String) As Long
#End If
Dim hwnd As Long
Dim Botwindowtitle As String
bot.Start
Botwindowtitle = bot.Window.Title
hwnd = GetAllWindowHandles(Botwindowtitle)
Call ShowWindow(hwnd, 7) 'Show the window minimized (SW_SHOWMINNOACTIVE = 7) http://www.jasinskionline.com/windowsapi/ref/s/showwindow.html
bot.Get "https://www.google.com/"
Private Function GetAllWindowHandles(partialName As String) As Long
Dim hwnd As Long, lngRet As Long
Dim strText As String
Dim hWndTemp As Long
hwnd = FindWindowEx(0&, 0&, vbNullString, vbNullString)
Do While hwnd <> 0
strText = String$(100, Chr$(0))
lngRet = GetWindowText(hwnd, strText, 100)
If InStr(1, strText, partialName, vbTextCompare) > 0 Then
Debug.Print "Window Handle:" & hwnd & vbNewLine & _
"Window title:" & Left$(strText, lngRet) & vbNewLine & _
"----------------------"
hWndTemp = hwnd
GetAllWindowHandles = hWndTemp
End If
'~~> Find next window
hwnd = FindWindowEx(0&, hwnd, vbNullString, vbNullString)
Loop
End Function

SAP Save As stops VBA script execution

I am writing a VBA code that will save a PDF file from SAP. I've reached the place where SAP asks me where I would like to save my pdf file (opens windows explorer "save as" window).At this point, VBA code stops and I need to manually input the name of the file I want to save. Then, vba continues to run...
I need help to find a way to automate this step.
A possible solution that I am thinking of(but don't know how to actually do it) is to tell vba to run a VB script that ends at save as window. Then I would send a "application.sendkeys(" ") to input the save as path.
Please advise if this is feasible. If it is, next step is I will have to dynamically modify specific lines of the vb script file (I need to loop through a list and change some values every time)
Thank you
So, it has been quite a challenge....Here is my solution to Handle a "Save as" window. It can be way simpler if you would only want to click on "Save" Button. My solution is more complicated because I specify where the file needs to be saved. To do that you need to find the right combobox, which takes a lot of iteration.
WinAPI necessary declarations:
Private Declare Function FindWindowEx Lib "user32" Alias "FindWindowExA" _
(ByVal hWnd1 As Long, ByVal hWnd2 As Long, ByVal lpsz1 As String, ByVal lpsz2 As String) As Long
Private Declare Function GetClassName Lib "user32" Alias "GetClassNameA" _
(ByVal hWnd As Long, ByVal lpClassName As String, ByVal nMaxCount As Long) As Long
Private Declare Function SendMessage Lib "user32" Alias _
"SendMessageW" (ByVal hWnd As Long, ByVal wMsg As Long, _
ByVal wParam As Long, lParam As Any) As Long
Private Declare Function FindWindow Lib "user32" Alias "FindWindowA" _
(ByVal lpClassName As String, ByVal lpWindowName As String) As Long
Public Declare Function SendNotifyMessage Lib "user32" Alias "SendMessageA" ( _
ByVal hWnd As Long, _
ByVal Msg As Integer, _
ByVal ByValByValwParam As Integer, _
ByVal lParam As String) As Integer
Actual VBA Code:
Sub SaveAsWindow()
Dim Winhwnd As Long
Dim prev As Long
Dim abc As Long
Dim strText As String
Dim rty As Variant
Dim Parent As Long
Dim child As Long
Winhwnd = FindWindow(vbNullString, "Save As")
For i = 1 To 20
strText = String$(100, Chr$(0))
abc = GetClassName(Winhwnd, strText, 100)
If Left$(strText, 12) = "DirectUIHWND" Then GoTo here1
Winhwnd = FindWindowEx(Winhwnd, 0&, vbNullString, vbNullString)
Next i
here1:
Parent = Winhwnd
child = FindWindowEx(Parent, 0&, vbNullString, vbNullString)
GoTo skip 'avoid this part for the 1st run
here2:
'fix child3 and child2
If child2 = 0 Then
rty = "0&"
Else
rty = 0
End If
If child3 = 555 Then
rty = "0&"
child3 = ""
End If
skip:
For i = 1 To 20
child = FindWindowEx(Parent, child, vbNullString, vbNullString)
For x = 1 To 20
If child3 = "" Then rty = 0
child2 = FindWindowEx(child, rty, vbNullString, vbNullString)
abc = GetClassName(child2, strText, 100)
If Left$(strText, 8) = "ComboBox" Then
child3 = FindWindowEx(child2, 0&, vbNullString, vbNullString)
If child3 = 0 Then
child3 = 555
GoTo here2
Else
GoTo here3
End If
End If
Next x
Next i
here3:
'this is te filepath. will be pasted into combobox. to adapt to your needs.
SendNotifyMessage child3, &HC, 0&, "C:\Users\username\abc.pdf"
'Get again the Save button
Winhwnd = FindWindow(vbNullString, "Save As")
buttn = FindWindowEx(Winhwnd, 0, "Button", "&Save")
'click on the save button
SendMessage buttn, &HF5&, 0, 0
End Sub
2nd VBA Code : For SAP, as it turns out to be simpler due to ComboboxEx32 being used instead of Combobox.
Sub test()
Dim Winhwnd As Long
Dim strText As String
Winhwnd = FindWindow(vbNullString, "Save As")
combo = FindWindowEx(Winhwnd, 0, vbNullString, vbNullString)
For i = 1 To 20
combo = FindWindowEx(Winhwnd, combo, vbNullString, vbNullString)
strText = String$(100, Chr$(0))
abc = GetClassName(combo, strText, 100)
If Left$(strText, 12) = "ComboBoxEx32" Then GoTo here
Next i
here:
SendNotifyMessage combo, &HC, 0&, "C:\Users\username\abc.pdf"
buttn = FindWindowEx(Winhwnd, 0, "Button", "&Open")
SendMessage buttn, &HF5&, 0, 0
End Sub
Bottom line, this is not the most perfect code, but I couldn't find anything else on the web. I hope this will benefit anyone with the same problem.

Display a message box with a timeout value

The question comes from code like this.
Set scriptshell = CreateObject("wscript.shell")
Const TIMEOUT_IN_SECS = 60
Select Case scriptshell.popup("Yes or No? leaving this window for 1 min is the same as clicking Yes.", TIMEOUT_IN_SECS, "popup window", vbYesNo + vbQuestion)
Case vbYes
Call MethodFoo
Case -1
Call MethodFoo
End Select
This is a simple way to display a message box with a timeout from VBA (or VB6).
In Excel 2007 (apparently also happens in Internet Explorer at times) the popup window will not timeout, and instead wait for user input.
This issue is tough to debug as it only happens occasionally and I do not know the steps to reproduce the issue. I believe it to be an issue with Office modal dialogs and Excel not recognising the timeout has expired.
See http://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/ITCG/thread/251143a6-e4ea-4359-b821-34877ddf91fb/
The workarounds I found are:
A. Use a Win32 API call
Declare Function MessageBoxTimeout Lib "user32.dll" Alias "MessageBoxTimeoutA" ( _
ByVal hwnd As Long, _
ByVal lpText As String, _
ByVal lpCaption As String, _
ByVal uType As Long, _
ByVal wLanguageID As Long, _
ByVal lngMilliseconds As Long) As Long
Private Declare Function FindWindow Lib "user32" Alias "FindWindowA" ( _
ByVal lpClassName As String, _
ByVal lpWindowName As String) As Long
Public Sub MsgBoxDelay()
Const cmsg As String = "Yes or No? leaving this window for 1 min is the same as clicking Yes."
Const cTitle As String = "popup window"
Dim retval As Long
retval = MessageBoxTimeout(FindWindow(vbNullString, Title), cmsg, cTitle, 4, 0, 60000)
If retval <> 7 Then
Call MethodFoo
End If
End Sub
B. Use a manual timer with a VBA userform that is designed to look like a messagebox. Use a global variable or similar to save any state that needs to be passed back to the calling code. Ensure that the Show method of the userform is called with the vbModeless parameter supplied.
C. Wrap the call to wscript.popup method in the MSHTA process which would allow the code to run out of process and avoid the modal nature of Office.
CreateObject("WScript.Shell").Run "mshta.exe vbscript:close(CreateObject(""WScript.Shell"").Popup(""Test"",2,""Real%20Time%20Status%20Message""))"
What is the best way of A, B or C or your own answer to display a message box with a timeout value in VBA?
This is a long answer, but there's a lot of ground to cover: it's also a late reply, but things have changed since some of the replies to this (and similar questions) have been posted on the stack. That sucks like a vacuum cleaner on triple-phase AC, because they were good answers when they were posted and a lot of thought went into them.
The short version is: I noticed that the Script WsShell Popup solution stopped working for me in VBA a year ago, and I coded a working API timer callback for the VBA MsgBox function.
Skip straight to the code under the heading VBA code to call a Message Box with a Timeout if you need an answer in a hurry - and I did, I have literally thousands of instances of a self-dismissing 'MsgPopup' substitute for VBA.MsgBox to redact, and the code below fits into a self-contained module.
However, the VBA coders here - myself included - need some explanation as to why perfectly good code no longer seems to work. And if you understand the reasons, you may be able to use the partial workaround for 'Cancel' dialogs, buried in the text.
I noticed that the Script WsShell Popup solution stopped working for me in VBA a year ago - The 'SecondsToWait' timeout was being ignored, and the dialog just hung around like the familiar VBA.MsgBox:
MsgPopup = objWShell.PopUp(Prompt, SecondsToWait, Title, Buttons)
And I think I know the reason why: you can no longer send a WM_CLOSE or WM_QUIT message to a dialog window from anywhere other than the thread which opened it. Likewise, the User32 DestroyWindow() function will not close a dialog window unless it's called by the thread that opened the dialog.
Someone in Redmond doesn't like the idea of a script running in the background and sending a WM_CLOSE commands to all those essential warnings that halt your work (and, these days, making them go away permanently needs local admin privileges).
I can't imagine who would write a script like that, it's a terrible idea!
There are consequences and collateral damage to that decision: WsScript.Popup() objects in the single-threaded VBA environment implement their 'SecondsToWait' timeout using a Timer callback, and that callback sends a WM_CLOSE message, or something like it... Which is ignored in most cases, because it's a callback thread, not the owner thread for the dialog.
You might get it to work on a popup with a 'CANCEL' button, and it'll become clear why that is in a minute or two.
I've tried writing a timer callback to WM_CLOSE the popup, and that failed for me, too, in most cases.
I've tried some exotic API callbacks to mess with the VBA.MsgBox and WsShell.Popup window, and I can tell you now that that they didn't work. You can't work with what isn't there: those dialog windows are very simple and most of them don't contain any functionality, at all, except for the responses in the button clicks - Yes, No, OK, Cancel, Abort, Retry, Ignore, and Help.
'Cancel' is an interesting one: it appears that you get a freebie from the primitive Windows API for built-in dialogs when you specify vbOKCancel or vbRetryCancel or vbYesNoCancel - the 'Cancel' function is automatically implemented with a 'close' button in the dialog's Menu bar (you don't get that with the other buttons, but feel free to try it with a dialog containing 'Ignore'), which means that....WsShell.Popup() dialogs will sometimes respond to the SecondsToWait timeout if they have a 'Cancel' option.
objWShell.PopUp("Test Me", 10, "Dialog Test", vbQuestion + vbOkCancel)
That might be a good enough workaround for someone reading this, if all you wanted was to get WsShell.Popup() functions to respond to the SecondsToWait parameter again.
This also means that you can send WM_CLOSE messages to the 'Cancel' dialog using the SendMessage() API call on a callback:
SendMessage(hwndDlgBox, WM_CLOSE, ByVal 0&, ByVal 0&)
Strictly speaking, this should only work for the WM_SYSCOMMAND, SC_CLOSE message - the 'close' box in the command bar is a 'system' menu with a special class of commands but, like I said, we're getting freebies from the Windows API.
I got that to work, and I started thinking: If I can only work with what's there, maybe I'd better find out what's actually there...
And the answer turns out to be obvious: Dialog boxes have their own set of WM_COMMAND message parameters -
' Dialog window message parameters, replicating Enum vbMsgBoxResult:
CONST dlgOK As Long = 1
CONST dlgCANCEL As Long = 2
CONST dlgABORT As Long = 3
CONST dlgRETRY As Long = 4
CONST dlgIGNORE As Long = 5
CONST dlgYES As Long = 6
CONST dlgNO As Long = 7
And, as these are the 'user' messages which return the user responses to the caller (that is to say, the calling thread) of the dialog, the dialog box is happy to accept them and close itself.
You can interrogate a dialog window to see if it implements a particular command and, if it does, you can send that command:
If GetDlgItem(hWndMsgBox, vbRetry) <> 0 Then
SendMessage hWndMsgBox, WM_COMMAND, vbRetry, 0&
Exit For
End If
The remaining challenge is to detect a 'Timeout' and intercept the returning Message Box response, and substitute our own value: -1 if we're following the convention established by the WsShell.Popup() function. So our 'msgPopup' wrapper for a Message Box with a timeout needs to do three things:
Call our API Timer for the delayed dismissal of the dialog;
Open the message Box, passing in the usual parameters;
Either: Detect a timeout and substitute the 'timeout' response...
...Or return the user response to the dialog, if they responded in
time
Elsewhere, we need to declare the API calls for all this, and we absolutely must have a Publicly-declared 'TimerProc' function for the Timer API to call. That function has to exist, and it has to run to 'End Function' without errors or breakpoints - any interruption, and the API Timer() will call down the wrath of the operating system.
VBA code to call a Message Box with a Timeout:
Option Explicit
Option Private Module
' Nigel Heffernan January 2016
' Modified from code published by Microsoft on MSDN, and on StackOverflow: this code is in ' the public domain.
' This module implements a message box with a 'timeout'
' It is similar to implementations of the WsShell.Popup() that use a VB.MessageBox interface
' with an additional 'SecondsToWait' or 'Timeout' parameter.
Private m_strCaption As String
Public Function MsgPopup(Optional Prompt As String, _
Optional Buttons As VbMsgBoxStyle = vbOKOnly, _
Optional Title As String, _
Optional SecondsToWait As Long = 0) As VbMsgBoxResult
' Replicates the VBA MsgBox() function, with an added parameter to automatically dismiss the message box after n seconds
' If dismissed automatically, this will return -1: NOT 'cancel', nor the default button choice.
Dim TimerStart As Single
If Title = "" Then
Title = ThisWorkbook.Name
End If
If SecondsToWait > 0 Then
' TimedmessageBox launches a callback to close the MsgBox dialog
TimedMessageBox Title, SecondsToWait
TimerStart = VBA.Timer
End If
MsgPopup = MsgBox(Prompt, Buttons, Title)
If SecondsToWait > 0 Then
' Catch the timeout, substitute -1 as the response
If (VBA.Timer - TimerStart) >= SecondsToWait Then
MsgPopup = -1
End If
End If
End Function
Public Function MsgBoxResultText(ByVal MsgBoxResult As VbMsgBoxResult) As String
' Returns a text value for the integers returned by VBA MsgBox() and WsShell.Popup() dialogs
' Additional value: 'TIMEOUT', returned when the MsgBoxResult = -1 ' All other values return the string 'ERROR'
On Error Resume Next
If (MsgBoxResult >= vbOK) And (MsgBoxResult <= vbNo) Then
MsgBoxResultText = Split("ERROR,OK,CANCEL,ABORT,RETRY,IGNORE,YES,NO,", ",")(MsgBoxResult)
ElseIf MsgBoxResult = dlgTIMEOUT Then
MsgBoxResultText = "TIMEOUT"
Else
MsgBoxResultText = "ERROR"
End If
End Function
'
'
'
'
'
'
'
'
'
'
Private Property Get MessageBox_Caption() As String
MessageBox_Caption = m_strCaption
End Property
Private Property Let MessageBox_Caption(NewCaption As String)
m_strCaption = NewCaption
End Property
Private Sub TimedMessageBox(Caption As String, Seconds As Long)
On Error Resume Next
' REQUIRED for Function msgPopup
' Public Sub TimerProcMessageBox MUST EXIST
MessageBox_Caption = Caption
SetTimer 0&, 0&, Seconds * 1000, AddressOf TimerProcMessageBox
Debug.Print "start Timer " & Now
End Sub
#If VBA7 And Win64 Then ' 64 bit Excel under 64-bit windows
' Use LongLong and LongPtr
Public Sub TimerProcMessageBox(ByVal hwnd As LongPtr, _
ByVal wMsg As Long, _
ByVal idEvent As LongPtr, _
ByVal dwTime As LongLong)
On Error Resume Next
' REQUIRED for Function msgPopup
' https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-US/library/windows/desktop/ms644907(v=vs.85).aspx
' Closes a dialog box (Shell.Popup or VBA.MsgBox) having a caption stored in MessageBox_Caption
' This TimerProc sends *any* message that can close the dialog: the objective is solely to close
' the dialog and resume the VBA thread. Your caller must detect the expired TimerProc interval
' and insert a custom return value (or default) that signals the 'Timeout' for responses.
' The MsgPopup implementation in this project returns -1 for this 'Timeout'
Dim hWndMsgBox As LongPtr ' Handle to VBA MsgBox
KillTimer hWndMsgBox, idEvent
hWndMsgBox = 0
hWndMsgBox = FindWindow("#32770", MessageBox_Caption)
If hWndMsgBox < > 0 Then
' Enumerate WM_COMMAND values
For iDlgCommand = vbOK To vbNo
If GetDlgItem(hWndMsgBox, iDlgCommand) <> 0 Then
SendMessage hWndMsgBox, WM_COMMAND, iDlgCommand, 0&
Exit For
End If
Next iDlgCommand
End If
End Sub
#ElseIf VBA7 Then ' 64 bit Excel in all environments
' Use LongPtr only
Public Sub TimerProcMessageBox(ByVal hwnd As LongPtr, _
ByVal wMsg As Long, _
ByVal idEvent As LongPtr, _
ByVal dwTime As Long)
On Error Resume Next
' REQUIRED for Function msgPopup
' https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-US/library/windows/desktop/ms644907(v=vs.85).aspx
' Closes a dialog box (Shell.Popup or VBA.MsgBox) having a caption stored in MessageBox_Caption
' This TimerProc sends *any* message that can close the dialog: the objective is solely to close
' the dialog and resume the VBA thread. Your caller must detect the expired TimerProc interval
' and insert a custom return value (or default) that signals the 'Timeout' for responses.
' The MsgPopup implementation in this project returns -1 for this 'Timeout'
Dim hWndMsgBox As LongPtr ' Handle to VBA MsgBox
Dim iDlgCommand As VbMsgBoxResult ' Dialog command values: OK, CANCEL, YES, NO, etc
KillTimer hwnd, idEvent
hWndMsgBox = 0
hWndMsgBox = FindWindow("#32770", MessageBox_Caption)
If hWndMsgBox < > 0 Then
' Enumerate WM_COMMAND values
For iDlgCommand = vbOK To vbNo
If GetDlgItem(hWndMsgBox, iDlgCommand) <> 0 Then
SendMessage hWndMsgBox, WM_COMMAND, iDlgCommand, 0&
Exit For
End If
Next iDlgCommand
End If
End Sub
#Else ' 32 bit Excel
Public Sub TimerProcMessageBox(ByVal hwnd As Long, _
ByVal wMsg As Long, _
ByVal idEvent As Long, _
ByVal dwTime As Long)
On Error Resume Next
' REQUIRED for Function msgPopup
' The MsgPopup implementation in this project returns -1 for this 'Timeout'
Dim hWndMsgBox As Long ' Handle to VBA MsgBox
KillTimer hwnd, idEvent
hWndMsgBox = 0
hWndMsgBox = FindWindow("#32770", MessageBox_Caption)
If hWndMsgBox < > 0 Then
' Enumerate WM_COMMAND values
For iDlgCommand = vbOK To vbNo
If GetDlgItem(hWndMsgBox, iDlgCommand) <> 0 Then
SendMessage hWndMsgBox, WM_COMMAND, iDlgCommand, 0&
Exit For
End If
Next iDlgCommand
End If
End Sub
#End If
And here are the API declarations - note the conditional declarations for VBA7, 64-Bit Windows, and plain-vanilla 32-bit:
' Explanation of compiler constants for 64-Bit VBA and API declarations :
' https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/office/ee691831(v=office.14).aspx
#If VBA7 And Win64 Then ' 64 bit Excel under 64-bit windows ' Use LongLong and LongPtr
Private Declare PtrSafe Function FindWindow Lib "user32" Alias "FindWindowA" _
(ByVal lpClassName As String, _
ByVal lpWindowName As String) As LongPtr
Private Declare PtrSafe Function SendMessage Lib "user32" Alias "SendMessageA" _
(ByVal hwnd As LongPtr, _
ByVal wMsg As Long, _
ByVal wParam As Long, _
ByRef lParam As Any _
) As LongPtr
Private Declare PtrSafe Function SetTimer Lib "user32" _
(ByVal hwnd As LongPtr, _
ByVal nIDEvent As LongPtr, _
ByVal uElapse As Long, _
ByVal lpTimerFunc As LongPtr _
) As Long
Public Declare PtrSafe Function KillTimer Lib "user32" _
(ByVal hwnd As LongPtr, _
ByVal nIDEvent As LongPtr _
) As Long
Private Declare PtrSafe Function GetDlgItem Lib "user32" _
(ByVal hWndDlg As LongPtr, _
ByVal nIDDlgItem As Long _
) As LongPtr
#ElseIf VBA7 Then ' VBA7 in all environments, including 32-Bit Office ' Use LongPtr for ptrSafe declarations, LongLong is not available
Private Declare PtrSafe Function FindWindow Lib "user32" Alias "FindWindowA" _
(ByVal lpClassName As String, _
ByVal lpWindowName As String) As LongPtr
Private Declare PtrSafe Function SendMessage Lib "user32" Alias "SendMessageA" _
(ByVal hwnd As LongPtr, _
ByVal wMsg As Long, _
ByVal wParam As Long, _
ByRef lParam As Any _
) As LongPtr
Private Declare PtrSafe Function SetTimer Lib "user32" _
(ByVal hwnd As LongPtr, _
ByVal nIDEvent As Long, _
ByVal uElapse As Long, _
ByVal lpTimerFunc As LongPtr) As LongPtr
Private Declare PtrSafe Function KillTimer Lib "user32" _
(ByVal hwnd As LongPtr, _
ByVal nIDEvent As Long) As Long
Private Declare PtrSafe Function GetDlgItem Lib "user32" _
(ByVal hWndDlg As LongPtr, _
ByVal nIDDlgItem As Long _
) As LongPtr
#Else
Private Declare Function FindWindow Lib "user32" Alias "FindWindowA" _
(ByVal lpClassName As String, _
ByVal lpWindowName As String) As Long
Private Declare Function SendMessage Lib "user32" Alias "SendMessageA" _
(ByVal hwnd As Long, _
ByVal wMsg As Long, _
ByVal wParam As Long, _
ByRef lParam As Any _
) As Long
Private Declare Function SetTimer Lib "user32" _
(ByVal hwnd As Long, _
ByVal nIDEvent As Long, _
ByVal uElapse As Long, _
ByVal lpTimerFunc As Long) As Long
Public Declare Function KillTimer Lib "user32" _
(ByVal hwnd As Long, _
ByVal nIDEvent As Long) As Long
Private Declare Function GetDlgItem Lib "user32" _
(ByVal hWndDlg, ByVal nIDDlgItem As Long) As Long
#End If
Private Enum WINDOW_MESSAGE
WM_ACTIVATE = 6
WM_SETFOCUS = 7
WM_KILLFOCUS = 8
WM_PAINT = &HF
WM_CLOSE = &H10
WM_QUIT = &H12
WM_COMMAND = &H111
WM_SYSCOMMAND = &H112
End Enum
' Dialog Box Command IDs - replicates vbMsgBoxResult, with the addition of 'dlgTIMEOUT'
Public Enum DIALOGBOX_COMMAND
dlgTIMEOUT = -1
dlgOK = 1
dlgCANCEL = 2
dlgABORT = 3
dlgRETRY = 4
dlgIGNORE = 5
dlgYES = 6
dlgNO = 7
End Enum
A final note: I would welcome suggestions for improvement from experienced MFC C++ developers, as you are going to have a much better grasp of the basic Windows message-passing concepts underlying a 'Dialog' window - I work in an oversimplified language and it is likely that the oversimplifications in my understanding have crossed the line into outright errors in my explanation.
Going with Answer A. the Win32 solution. This meets the requirements, and is robust from testing so far.
Declare Function MessageBoxTimeout Lib "user32.dll" Alias "MessageBoxTimeoutA" ( _
ByVal hwnd As Long, _
ByVal lpText As String, _
ByVal lpCaption As String, _
ByVal uType As Long, _
ByVal wLanguageID As Long, _
ByVal lngMilliseconds As Long) As Long
Private Declare Function FindWindow Lib "user32" Alias "FindWindowA" ( _
ByVal lpClassName As String, _
ByVal lpWindowName As String) As Long
Public Sub MsgBoxDelay()
Const cmsg As String = "Yes or No? leaving this window for 1 min is the same as clicking Yes."
Const cTitle As String = "popup window"
Dim retval As Long
retval = MessageBoxTimeout(FindWindow(vbNullString, Title), cmsg, cTitle, 4, 0, 60000)
If retval <> 7 Then
Call MethodFoo
End If
End Sub
Easy
Call CreateObject("WScript.Shell").Popup("Timed message box", 1, "Title", vbOKOnly)
Starting with the samples in this post my final code is as follows:
' Coded by Clint Smith
'''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''
' tMsgBox Function (Timered Message Box)
' By Clint Smith, clintasm#gmail.com
' Created 04-Sep-2014
' Updated for 64-bit 03-Mar-2020
' This provides an publicly accessible procedure named
' tMsgBox that when invoked instantiates a timered
' message box. Many constants predefined for easy use.
' There is also a global result variable tMsgBoxResult.
'''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''
Public Const mbBTN_Ok = vbOKOnly 'Default
Public Const mbBTN_OkCancel = vbOKCancel
Public Const mbBTN_AbortRetryIgnore = vbAbortRetryIgnore
Public Const mbBTN_YesNoCancel = vbYesNoCancel
Public Const mbBTN_YesNo = vbYesNo
Public Const mbBTN_RetryCancel = vbRetryCancel
Public Const mbBTN_CanceTryagainContinue = &H6
Public Const mbICON_Stop = vbCritical
Public Const mbICON_Question = vbQuestion
Public Const mbICON_Exclaim = vbExclamation
Public Const mbICON_Info = vbInformation
Public Const mbBTN_2ndDefault = vbDefaultButton2
Public Const mbBTN_3rdDefault = vbDefaultButton3
Public Const mbBTN_4rdDefault = vbDefaultButton4
Public Const mbBOX_Modal = vbSystemModal
Public Const mbBTN_AddHelp = vbMsgBoxHelpButton
Public Const mbTXT_RightJustified = vbMsgBoxRight
Public Const mbWIN_Top = &H40000 'Default
Public Const mbcTimeOut = 32000
Public Const mbcOk = vbOK
Public Const mbcCancel = vbCancel
Public Const mbcAbort = vbAbort
Public Const mbcRetry = vbRetry
Public Const mbcIgnore = vbIgnore
Public Const mbcYes = vbYes
Public Const mbcNo = vbNo
Public Const mbcTryagain = 10
Public Const mbcContinue = 11
Public Const wAccessWin = "OMain"
Public Const wExcelWin = "XLMAIN"
Public Const wWordWin = "OpusApp"
Public tMsgBoxResult As Long
#If VBA7 Then
Private Declare PtrSafe Function FindWindow Lib "user32" Alias "FindWindowA" _
(ByVal lpClassName As String, _
ByVal lpWindowName As String) As Long
Public Declare PtrSafe Function tMsgBoxA Lib "user32.dll" Alias "MessageBoxTimeoutA" ( _
ByVal hwnd As Long, _
ByVal lpText As String, _
ByVal lpCaption As String, _
ByVal uType As Long, _
ByVal wLanguageID As Long, _
ByVal lngMilliseconds As Long) As Long
#Else
Private Declare Function FindWindow Lib "user32" Alias "FindWindowA" _
(ByVal lpClassName As String, _
ByVal lpWindowName As String) As Long
Public Declare Function tMsgBoxA Lib "user32.dll" Alias "MessageBoxTimeoutA" ( _
ByVal hwnd As Long, _
ByVal lpText As String, _
ByVal lpCaption As String, _
ByVal uType As Long, _
ByVal wLanguageID As Long, _
ByVal lngMilliseconds As Long) As Long
#End If
Public Sub tMsgBox( _
Optional sMessage As String = "Default: (10 sec timeout)" & vbLf & "Coded by Clint Smith", _
Optional sTitle As String = "Message Box with Timer", _
Optional iTimer As Integer = 10, _
Optional hNtype As Long = mbBTN_Ok + mbWIN_Top, _
Optional hLangID As Long = &H0, _
Optional wParentType As String = vbNullString, _
Optional wParentName As String = vbNullString)
tMsgBoxResult = tMsgBoxA(FindWindow(wParentType, wParentName), sMessage, sTitle, hNtype, hLangID, 1000 * iTimer)
End Sub
Private Declare Function MsgBoxTimeout _
Lib "user32" _
Alias "MessageBoxTimeoutA" ( _
ByVal hwnd As Long, _
ByVal MsgText As String, _
ByVal Title As String, _
ByVal MsgBoxType As VbMsgBoxStyle, _
ByVal wlange As Long, _
ByVal Timeout As Long) _
As Long
Dim btnOK As Boolean
Dim btnCancel As Boolean
Dim MsgTimeOut As Boolean
Option Explicit
Sub Main
AutoMsgbox("Message Text", "Title", vbOkCancel , 5) '5 sec TimeOut
MsgBox("Pressed OK: " & btnOK & vbNewLine & "Pressed Cancel: " & btnCancel & vbNewLine &"MsgBox Timeout: " & MsgTimeOut)
End Sub
Function AutoMsgbox(MsgText , Title , MsgBoxType , Timeout)
Dim ReturnValue
Dim TimeStamp As Date
TimeStamp = DateAdd("s",Timeout,Now)
Dim MsgText1 As String
Dim TimeOutCounter As Integer
For TimeOutCounter = 0 To Timeout
MsgText1 = MsgText & vbNewLine & vbNewLine & " Auto Selction in " & Timeout - TimeOutCounter & " [s]"
ReturnValue = MsgBoxTimeout(0 , MsgText1 , Title, MsgBoxType, 0 ,1000)
Select Case ReturnValue
Case 1
btnOK = True
btnCancel = False
btnAbort = False
btnRetry = False
btnIgnore = False
btnYes = False
btnNo = False
MsgTimeOut = False
Exit Function
Case 2
btnOK = False
btnCancel = True
btnAbort = False
btnRetry = False
btnIgnore = False
btnYes = False
btnNo = False
MsgTimeOut = False
Exit Function
Case 3
btnOK = False
btnCancel = False
btnAbort = True
btnRetry = False
btnIgnore = False
btnYes = False
btnNo = False
MsgTimeOut = False
Exit Function
Case 4
btnOK = False
btnCancel = False
btnAbort = False
btnRetry = True
btnIgnore = False
btnYes = False
btnNo = False
MsgTimeOut = False
Exit Function
Case 5
btnOK = False
btnCancel = False
btnAbort = False
btnRetry = False
btnIgnore = True
btnYes = False
btnNo = False
MsgTimeOut = False
Exit Function
Case 6
btnOK = False
btnCancel = False
btnAbort = False
btnRetry = False
btnIgnore = False
btnYes = True
btnNo = False
MsgTimeOut = False
Exit Function
Case 7
btnOK = False
btnCancel = False
btnAbort = False
btnRetry = False
btnIgnore = False
btnYes = False
btnNo = True
MsgTimeOut = False
Exit Function
Case 32000
btnOK = False
btnCancel = False
btnAbort = False
btnRetry = False
btnIgnore = False
btnYes = False
btnNo = False
MsgTimeOut = True
Next TimeOutCounter
End Function

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